Adult education staffing target of cuts

The school board's change in direction found few objections at
the school board meeting for the grade K-12 district Monday night,
Jan. 14, as Superintendent Daniel Gerardi laid out the details of
the future of adult education.

"Our hope is to continue, as much as we can, the regular
functioning of the continuing education program by lowering
administrative overhead costs," Gerardi said.

By eliminating the program's full-time director and breaking his
responsibilities into several part-time positions, adult education
will have the funds to continue, the superintendent said.

Enriquo Prata, former director of continuing education, will be
transferred to another position within the district, Gerardi
said.

According to Gerardi's recommendation, adult education will no
longer run under the auspices of the Continuing Education
Department which currently houses the pre-kindergarten and summer
enrichment programs.

The adult school office will be moved to the James Caldwell High
School in West Caldwell and will be staffed by three part-time
employees including a program coordinator, secretary and a
financial coordinator.

Last year, adult education covered about 70 percent of its
expenditures, but salaries in the administrative office added up to
$144,000, which pushed the program into negative numbers.

The cost of the new part-time staff will be about $40,000,
Gerardi said, which is substantially less than the current
overhead.

Still Skeptical

West Caldwell resident Berkley Leeds, however, remained
skeptical of the board's decision to rework the Continuing
Education Department, saying the board is just winking at the issue
of the director's bloated salary.

"The administrative change that you propose sounds very
promising, but it may contain some smoke and mirrors," he
said.

Leeds appeared worried that since former Continuing Education
Director Prata has been with the district for 17 years, he is
tenured and cannot be let go. As a result, the burden of the
director's salary will be shifted to another department and will
not disappear.

While the sum of the three part-time positions will be
substantially less than the cost of a full-time director, it still
does not address the director's salary, Leeds said.

"Are we ducking the issue of the present director? You're still
going to have to pay him about $100,000 in salary and benefits. I
don't see where the savings amount to anything," he said.

The board must now either transfer Prata to another
administrative position within the district or create a new
position for him to fill.

"We will work diligently to make this change without increasing
the regular education budget," board member Joseph Marin
said.

Board President Frances Chase said the next step will be a
personnel issue and will not be discussed in public.

Prata was not at the meeting to respond.

Course Offerings

Adult education courses will continue to be offered at the high
school for two 15-week semesters.

Students may find the course selection more limited than usual.
Budget limitations have forced the program to cut many
not-so-popular classes which are unable cover their own costs.
Also, without a full-time director, there will be less of an
opportunity to develop curriculum, but part-time staffers will
continue to seek new courses to offer students.

"We will be able to do some ongoing program planning, but not as
much as in the past," Gerardi said. Students will also find the
adult education office will be open for fewer hours. But in the
eyes of many, overcoming the difficulties of a waning annual budget
and giving the adult education program another shot was a
success.

"I think the plan you developed is praiseworthy and it has a
strong likelihood for success," said board member Joseph Martin
about Superintendent Gerardi's plan to reorganize adult education.
"I suggest we commit to it for the next year and revisit it. If it
doesn't work, we certainly have given the effort and I think it is
consistent with the wishes that were expressed by the community
about the importance of the program,' ' Martin said.

Board President Chase expressed concern over the sudden drop in
enrollment in the past few years. Fall enrollment this year was
down 25 percent. "I know that fall enrollment this year has been
lower than in the past, and that spring is usually lower than in
the fall. What's going to happen if the spring enrollment is much
lower that the already low fall enrollment?" Chase asked.

Gerardi said the dramatic drop in students has made it difficult
to project enrollment figures into the future, but he estimated a
five percent drop in enrollment next year.

Arnold Knadle, Roseland resident and assistant education officer
of the Northern New Jersey Power Squadron, expressed his
appreciation for the board's decision to save adult continuing
education.

"I've been using your facilities for many years teaching the
boating course. It's a great public service and I thank you very
much for continuing the program," he said.

Other Business

In other business, the district will hold a staff development
day while schools are closed on Monday, Jan. 21 in honor of Martin
Luther King Day.

Richard Schenk, assistant superintendent and former principal of
the Grover Cleveland Middle School, said the district is prepped
for a full day of activities for teachers and
administrators.

Grade K-4 teachers will meet to discuss the revised social
studies curriculum while health teachers will focus on drugs,
alcohol and substance abuse.

Special education teachers will meet for a full day to discuss
legal issues with Frank Pomaco, attorney for the school
board.

"What we are trying to do is get a variety of different teachers
together in one forum to talk about what is going on in the
different levels," Schenk said. "It is an excellent opportunity for
teachers to meet with their colleagues."

The next public meetings of the Board of Education are a
conference session on Monday, Feb. 4 and a regular meeting on
Monday, Feb. 11. The special meeting listed in the board's
published calendar for Monday, Jan. 28 is an executive session, not
open to the public.

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